496HO Engine

[boxer156]

Just got a boat with this engine in it, and wondered if there are any trouble-areas, or anything particular I need to keep an eye on? Its in the shop now, and the only thing found during the inspection/service was a rusted throttle cable, so it seems to be in great shape.

What do I need to keep an eye on, or need to keep serviced (other than the usual drive/engine oil)? It is in a 2002 Rinker 262 Captiva SS.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 496HO Engine

With that motor the only thing you should watch out for is your right hand!!!!!

Get your mind out of the gutter I mean the throttle!!

Even in a 26' boat that should haul the mail!

 

[emilsr]

Re: 496HO Engine

We've put almost 200 hours on our "HO" and with the exception of having to replace an IAC valve at 150 hours it's been a trouble free powerplant. My understanding is the IAC is a common problem (it's a $90 part).

Other than that, it burns no oil now (burned a little the first 50 hours), fires right up and moves our 26' Baja right along. I've been pleased with it. It should have either a B1X or a BIIIX drive behind it; keep an eye on the drive oil and I'd recommend a drive shower. If you want to hot rod it then you're asking for trouble as it has cast internals, but leave it in stock form and it's supposedly a good engine from all that I've seen/heard/read. There are LOTS of them on our lake and I've heard of no major issues.

Depending on the number of hours you may be looking at replacing spark plugs and plug wires, but other than that you should be good to go other than the aforementioned IAC valve.

 

[boxer156]

Re: 496HO Engine

Thanks for the replies! A couple questions (I'm not mechanically inclined):

What is the IAC valve and is it easy to replace?
What is a drive shower?

I have NO intentions to hot-rod this engine, as it is powerful enough for me at stock ratings. The boat/motor has 300 hours, and it was in the shop yesterday for a look-over since I just bought it. The only thing found was a throttle cable, so I was happy. I will probably change the plugs/wires this year, later-on during summer.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 496HO Engine

IAC Idle Air Controller its not tough to replace depending on your setup an hour or two

Drive shower is a tube installed on your outdrive to provide cooling onto the top of the drive,

on my drive its the silver tube that extends from just above the props to the top of the drive, it continues across the top of the drive and then down to the other side of the drive. What it does is takes water rushing past your drive and redirects it to the top of the drive and then out little holes to shower the top of the drive

I hope that made sense......

 

[emilsr]

Re: 496HO Engine

IAC = Idle Air Control

It's on the top of the engine closer to the transom. Depending on engine access it isn't hard to replace (one electrical plug and 2 screws) so long as it doesn't get hot enough to melt the connector. Mine did and we had to replace the connector as well.

Take a look here for the explanation of drive showers (this is the brand I'm using). http://driveshowers.com/

I'm not 100% convinced they reduce drive lube temps...but my drive lube looks new when I change it at 50 hours so it obviously isn't hurting. They do keep the calcium buildup (water spots) at bay. They can be hard to clean if you don't stay on top of it; the shower keeps the drive much cleaner. For that alone it's worth it to me.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 496HO Engine

HA emilsr beat me to it I have a Simrek also, guess you don't need the link I was going to post anymore!!

You can see the limescale emilsr is talking about on the top of my drive, I also agree with emilsr's evaluation on the performance of the drive shower completely

 

[boxer156]

Re: 496HO Engine

Thanks! I've actually seen those drive coolers, BUT never knew what they were!!!

 

[boxer156]

Re: 496HO Engine

One final dumb question--how do you check the drive oil on the Bravo units? I only had Alpha's in the past, and there was a screw visible on the outside of the drive (I did not see one on the Bravo)??

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 496HO Engine

on my Bravo III there is a reservoir on the top port side of the motor, thats for the Bravo III I'm not sure if its different on the other Bravo's, just keep it on the fill line and your good to go, drain screw is on the bottom starboard side of outdrive and the fill/overflow screw is on the same side at the top of the drive, you can see the bottom of the top screw under the anode on my trim ram